adminTHE recent elections of the Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans Association (ZNLWVA) Bulawayo provincial leadership has been marred with controversy, which has seen deep rooted divisions among the former freedom fighters in the province.
A subsequent split has been experienced with some of the war veterans aligning themselves to the elected Cde Cephas Ncube-led executive while others have aligned themselves to a member of the Council of Elders, Cde George Mlala.
The clashes in the province saw the chairperson of the association, Cde Christopher Mutsvangwa, who is also Minister of Welfare Services for War Veterans, War Collaborators, Political Detainees and Restrictees, leading a delegation to the province last week with the aim of addressing the problems. Fist fights however, broke out with accusations that Cde Mlala hired people to disrupt the meeting singing derogatory songs against Cde Mutsvangwa.
The pandemonium was only stopped after the intervention of the police and the suspected Cde Mlala group was chased away from the venue. During the meeting Cde Mutsvangwa endorsed Cde Ncube led executive.
Sunday News reporter Vusumuzi Dube caught up with Cde Mlala to get his views on the ongoing clashes in the province, the alleged bad blood between him and Cde Mutsvangwa, among a host of other issues. Below are excerpts of the interview.
Background to the clashes
To understand this matter one has to go back to the period before the Masvingo meeting. When it was discovered that some war veterans were straying from the real values that we stand for under the leadership of Jabulani Sibanda, we grouped ourselves as war veterans with the aim of ridding ourselves of these elements, which is how we got the name “Council of Elders”.
The crisis within the association was further worsened when Sibanda claimed he would not be part of the First Lady, Dr Grace Mugabe’s Meet the People tours claiming they were what he termed part of a “bedroom coup”.
He even organised a meeting in Mutare where he said every able bodied man and women of Zimbabwe must take up the challenge and refuse this “bedroom coup”. He even threatened that he and his war veterans who had gathered in Mutare would march to the State House in protest.
When President Mugabe called for a war veterans meeting in Harare to address problems in the association — he gave a number of directives, which included dissolving the entire national executive, and the entire provincial and district executives.
He also said; “I instruct (Cde Patrick) Nyaruwata, (Cde Joseph) Chinotimba and you white head (meaning myself) to go and fix the association and come up with a proper organisation.”
This meant to us that we should mobilise the war veterans, unite the war veterans, especially those who did not agree with Jabulani Sibanda. He told us to prepare to hold a congress in two weeks’ time, where a new leadership of the association was to be elected. When we were preparing for the Masvingo congress we had several meetings.
During these preparatory meetings we made a few resolutions as guidelines for the Masvingo meeting which include firstly that those that supported Jabulani Sibanda particularly those that attended the Mutare meeting and the last national executive meeting called by Sibanda in Harare will not be allowed to take any position at national, provincial or district level.
It was agreed that they would remain war veterans and if they would want to be loyal they would come back and with time they would be allowed back into the structures. The second most critical resolution was that those who were in the Council of Elders would not be allowed to participate in these elections as it was felt that it would look like we were interested in fighting for positions instead of the greater good of the association.
It was resolved that we remain as Council of Elders so that in the future if anything happens this grouping will be called upon to look impartially into the issues with a view to rectify them. The third was that those that would participate in the congress will be thoroughly vetted. Each province was meant to bring 40 delegates to the congress.
The congress thus took place on 15 November 2014, where again another vetting process was conducted using the same parameters laid by President Mugabe. We agreed that since each province had brought 40 delegates, translating to 400 delegates, we would then choose 10 who will make up the national committee of which each province would provide a single member.
The chairman would be chosen among those 10 elected from each province. This brought the number of delegates to 390. We then said each province will come up with four names to bring a total of 40. These 40 will then be added to those 10 other names, this then constitutes the national executive.
This left 35 delegates a province. Out of these 35 it was agreed that when they go back to their provinces they will choose 10 members who were meant to run their respective provinces on an interim basis. When we came back from the congress, Bulawayo did exactly that and we also approached the incumbent executive, led by Cde Japhet Phuthi, and asked them to come on board for continuity purposes.
I personally told them of the Masvingo resolutions and further advised them that because of their participation in the Mutare meeting they were not to take any position. We asked them to however, come on board so we put up an interim executive and then chose a national executive member to superintendent on the affairs of the province until elections were held.
Instead of accepting this, they refused out rightly, they said they didn’t take any orders from Masvingo, they totally refused to relinquish power. We went on like that, with the Masvingo interim executive and the previous executive. We informed the national executive of these developments in writing, unfortunately there was no response. Around June we were told to prepare 20 names who were going to be delegates at a provincial congress where a new provincial executive was to be elected. We drew the 20 from the Masvingo delegation but the resistance was still there from the previous executive.
A week before the 8th of August we were told that the provincial elections will be held the following week and the list that was going to be used was to be the one which we had submitted. In Bulawayo the elections were meant to be held at Imbizo Barracks. Likewise on the 8th the delegates went to the respective venues but in Bulawayo when they got to Imbizo Barracks the army said they had not been informed hence they decided to hold the elections at Davies Hall (the Zanu-PF provincial headquarters).
I understand it is at Davies Hall that the fist fighting started, as Zanu-PF secretary for security in the province, I was informed of this violence and I immediately made my way to Davies Hall where I looked for the chief election officer, a Brigadier General Choga. He told me that there were counter accusations with one group claiming the other belonged to Jabulani Sibanda while the other accused the other of being part of the Gamatox cabal.
Further he (Brig Gen Choga) said it was said that the names that were submitted were not part of the names that had been sent to Harare. When I left Davies Hall he told me that he was cancelling the elections but surprisingly when we woke up the following day the newspapers told us Cde Cephas Ncube had been elected provincial chairperson.
I wrote a report to that effect. The interim executive wrote a report, all these reports were delivered to the national chairperson (Cde Chris Mutsvangwa), not his office, not his secretary but they were handed directly to him. We got no response to these reports but I only saw in the press recently when the national chairperson was quoted saying that those who were complaining about those elections should wait for 2018.
Actually, when you look at the whole issue no elections were held on the 8th of August in Bulawayo. If you look at the list of the current executive and the Jabulani Sibanda era executive, they are all similar, with the same people, no addition, and no subtraction.
They retained their positions as they were, except for a few that they interchanged. What then we are saying is; why did people go to Masvingo, why did people fight Jabulani Sibanda. You cannot condemn the tree that produces fruits and have the fruits in your basket, it does not make sense, if you condemn the tree you have to condemn the fruits also. These people refused the outcome of the Masvingo congress.
Cde Japhet Phuthi came out clear in the media when he said that he does not recognise what happened in Masvingo. This is the same grouping which Mutsvangwa now has.
Bulawayo violence during Cde Mutsvangwa meeting
Some people have been alleging I sponsored the violence that took place during Cde Mutsvangwa’s visit but I insist that anyone who is saying I was behind the violence that happened in Bulawayo is either ill-informed or creating it himself.
The position is that when war vets heard that their chairperson is coming they said that he must first of all avail himself as their chairperson and not the Minister of Welfare Services for the War Veterans, War Collaborators, Former Political Detainees and Restrictees, so that he can respond to the letters of complaints that were sent to him regarding the provincial elections.
They emphasised that this meeting must consist only war veterans, as the letters were sent to him as the chairperson and not as a minister. War veterans in Bulawayo were long mobilised, they were mobilised period leading to Masvingo and remained mobilised. The biggest mistake that the national chairperson did is that he was confused whether he was coming here as a national chairperson of war veterans or a minister. He does not chair the war collaborators, detainees or restrictees, he only chairs the war vets, on a Government side he ministers all these groupings.
The war veterans simply refused to be addressed by their national chairperson in the presence of the war collaborators, detainees, restrictees and even party youths. Everyone was shocked to see large numbers of people during that meeting, in actual fact they were not war veterans, it was more of a meeting turned into a rally. The people you saw wanting to talk to the national chairperson are war veterans who wanted their grievances addressed.
The answer to what happened during that fateful meeting is clear; Cde Mutsvangwa is starting to create his own political power. But I believe he is shortsighted because he wants them now because they were vulnerable and thought he could then go ahead and take advantage of them. The truth which he does not realise however, is that these people are just using him, they have not forgotten what happened in Masvingo but he has, so at the end of the day he is not carrying anyone but he is being carried.
Reaction from the council of elders
As Council of Elders we are watching what is happening very closely and very soon we will be telling the nation the way forward. We are communicating as a group, remember I am not the only one but we are a grouping. We know what we agreed upon in Masvingo. Very soon we will be convening a meeting where we will summon the national chairperson to explain everything.
Welfare of war veterans
As for the welfare of the war veterans, it is a very long story. Remember that these are the same people who once became pushcarts drivers, fortunately they were recognised and are now receiving the pensions.
I know the minister is saying he has some programmes which he said are aimed at the war veterans in terms of economic empowerment. However, I am now not sure whether these programmes will come to fruition because when he was appointed minister he said the programmes will start shaping up in 6 to 12 months’ time, but 11 months down the line he has shifted goal posts and is now saying from now they will take another 12 to 24 months. As a national chairperson of war veterans he understands better what the requirements of war veterans are which are; firstly; stability and peace, secondly they want security which include offer letters to the pieces of land they were given and thirdly the welfare of their families and children.
Liberation war credentials
I know a lot has been said about my history in the liberation struggle, with some claiming I deserted the war to drive taxis. To clarify this I never deserted the war at any point. I crossed the border in 1972, went to training in 1973 in Morogoro, Tanzania where I finished training towards the end of 1973.
After training I never stayed in Zambia but I went straight to the front. In 1974 to 1975 I was in the frontline operating in the Jambezi area. Just find out who the Second Czechovia is, you will find out that it is Douglas Mali, which is myself. I also operated in the areas of Hwange, even in the townships.
In April 1975, there was the declaration of the period leading to Zipa, where I went to Mboroma, where we were fused together; Zipra, Zanla and Frolizi. In 1976 we went to Mozambique where there was the formation of Zipa.
The same year, 1976, I went back to Zambia after the collapse of Zipa, where we went to Nampundu, we were the first people to get there, which was a former Zanla camp. We did not stay there for long, we went to a camp called Detante.
That same year I was moved back to Livingstone where I was deployed at the Mkhuni area. We were the first people to open the Botswana front, which is Kazungula base, which saw many people crossing to join the struggle.
In 1978 I got injured and went back to Lusaka. On the day Freedom Camp was bombed I was at Zimbabwe House in Lusaka, where I stayed up to 1979. Yes, I had relatives in Zambia whom I visited during my stay between 1978 and 1979 but I never drove any taxi, I was staying at Zimbabwe house.
I then came here where I was appointed to command the disabled at the Luveve battalion. We were then taken to Ntabazinduna where I was deputising Cde Arthur Masuku until we were disintegrated to civilian life.
derick.khumalo
Online Reporter